Osteoarthritis, the most common degenerative joint disease, significantly impairs life quality and labor capability of patients. Synovial inflammation, initiated by HMGB1 (High mobility group box 1)-induced activation of macrophage, precedes other pathological changes. As an upstream regulator of NF-κB (nuclear factor-kappa B) and MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signaling pathway, TAK1 (TGF-β activated kinase 1) participates in macrophage activation, while its function in osteoarthritis remains unveiled. This study aims to investigate the role of TAK1 in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis via both in vitro and in vivo approaches.

We performed immunohistochemical staining for TAK1 in synovial tissue, both in osteoarthritis patients and healthy control. Besides, immunofluorescence staining for F4/80 as macrophage marker and TAK1 were conducted as well. TAK1 expression was examined in RAW264.7 macrophages stimulated by HMGB1 via qPCR (Quantitative polymerase chain reaction) and Western blotting, and the effect of TAK1 inhibitor (5z-7 oxozeaenol) on TNF-α production was evaluated by immunofluorescence staining. Further, we explored the influence of intra-articular shRNA (short hairpin RNA) targeting TAK1 on collagenase-induced osteoarthritis in mice.

Immunohistochemical staining confirmed significant elevation of TAK1 in osteoarthritic synovium, and immunofluorescence staining suggested macrophages as predominant residence of TAK1. In HMGB1-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages, TAK1 expression was up-regulated both in mRNA and protein level. Besides, TAK1 inhibitor significantly impairs the production of TNF-α by macrophages upon HMGB1 stimulation. Moreover, intra-articular injection of lentivirus loaded with shRNA targeting TAK1 (sh-TAK1) reduced peri-articular osteophyte formation in collagenase-induced osteoarthritis in mice.

TAK1 exerts a potent role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis by mediating the activation of macrophages.

For patients who took joint replacement, one of the complications, aseptic joint loosening, could cause a high risk of revision surgery. Studies have shown that MSCs have the ability of homing and differentiating, and also have highly effective immune regulation and anti-inflammatory effects. However, few studies had focused on the stem cells in preventing the occurrence and development of aseptic loosening. In this research, we aimed to clarify whether human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells could inhibited the aseptic joint loosening caused by wear particles.

A Cranial osteolysis mice model was established on mice to examine the effect of hUC-MSCs on the Titanium particles injection area through micro-CT. The amount of stem cells injected was 2 × 10 5 cells. One week later, the mouse Cranial were obtained for micro-CT scan, and then stained with HE analysis immunohistochemical analysis of TNF-α, CD68, CCL3 and Il-1β.

All mice were free of fever and other adverse reactions, and there was no death occurred. Titanium particles caused the osteolysis at the mice cranial, while local injection of hUC-MSCs did inhibit the cranial osteolysis, with a lower BV/TV and a higher porosity. Immunohistochemical results suggested that the expression of TNF-α, CD68, CCL3 and Il-1β in the cranial in Titanium particles mice increased significantly, but was significantly reduced in mice injected with hUC-MSCs. The inhibited CD68 expression indicated that the number of macrophage was lower, which might be a result of the inhibition of CCL3.

According to the studies above, HUC-MSCs treatment of mouse cranial osteolysis model can significantly reduce osteolysis, inhibit macrophage recruitment, alleviate inflammatory response, without causing adverse reactions. It may become a promising treatment of aseptic joint loosening.

Previous studies showed that telo-peptides degraded from type II collagen, a type of collagen fragments, could induce cartilage damage in bovine stifle joints. We aim to investigate the role of integrins (ITGs) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in collagen fragment-induced human cartilage damage that is usually observed in osteoarthritis (OA). We hypothesized that N-telopeptide (NT) derived from type II collagen could up-regulate the expression of β1 integrin (ITGB1) and then MMPs that may lead to osteoarthritic cartilage damage.

Human chondrocytes were isolated from femoral head or tibial plateau of patients receiving arthroplasty (N = 24). Primary chondrocyte cultures were either treated with 30 µM NT, or 30 µM scrambled NT (SN), or PBS, or left untreated for 24 hrs. Total proteins and RNAs were extracted for examination of expression of ITGB1 and MMPs-3&13 with Western blotting and quantitative real-time PCR.

Compared to untreated or PBS treated chondrocytes, NT-treated chondrocytes expressed significantly higher levels of ITGB1 and MMPs-3&-13. However, SN also up-regulated expression of ITGB1 and MMP-13.

ITGB1 and MMPs-3&-13 might mediate the catalytic effect of NT, a type of collagen fragments, on human cartilage damage that is a hallmark of OA.

Intervertebral disc degeneration can lead to physical disability and significant pain, while the present therapeutics still fail to biochemically and biomechanically restore the tissue. Stem cell-based therapy in treating intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is promising while transplanting cells alone might not be adequate for effective regeneration. Recently, gene modification and 3D-printing strategies represent promising strategies to enhanced therapeutic efficacy of MSC therapy. In this regard, we hypothesized that the combination of thermosensitive chitosan hydrogel and adipose derived stem cells (ADSCs) engineered with modRNA encoding Interleukin − 4 (IL-4) can inhibit inflammation and promote the regeneration of the degenerative IVD.

Rat ADSCs were acquired from adipose tissue and transfected with modRNAs. First, the kinetics and efficacy of modRNA-mediated gene transfer in mouse ADSCs were analyzed in vitro. Next, we applied an indirect co-culture system to analyze the pro-anabolic potential of IL-4 modRNA engineered ADSCs (named as IL-4-ADSCs) on nucleus pulposus cells.

ModRNA transfected mouse ADSCs with high efficiency and the IL-4 modRNA-transfected ADSCs facilitated burst-like production of bio-functional IL-4 protein. In vitro, IL-4-ADSCs induced increased anabolic markers expression of nucleus pulposus cells in inflammation environment compared to untreated ADSCs.

These findings collectively supported the therapeutic potential of the combination of thermosensitive chitosan hydrogel and IL-4-ADSCs for intervertebral disc degeneration management. Histological and in vivo validation are now being conducted.

Aseptic inflammation is the main factor causing aseptic loosening of artificial joints. Studies have shown that inflammatory cells can activate STING (stimulator of interferon genes, STING) after being stressed. This study aims to explore the specific mechanism of STING in aseptic loosening of artificial joints, and provide new strategies for disease prevention.

Titanium particles with a diameter of 1.2-10 μm were prepared to stimulate macrophages (RAW 264.7) to simulate the periprosthetic microenvironment. A lentiviral vector targeting the STING gene was designed and transfected into macrophages to construct a cell line targeting STING knockdown. The expression and secretion levels of TNF-α were detected by qPCR and ELISA, the activation levels of inflammatory pathways (NF-κB, IRF3, etc.) were detected by western blot, and the nucleus translocation of P65 and IRF3 was observed by cellular immunofluorescence.

After titanium particles stimulated macrophages, qPCR and ELISA showed that the transcription and secretion levels of TNF-α were significantly increased. Western blot showed that titanium particle stimulation could increase the phosphorylation levels of NF-κB and IRF3 pathways. While knockdown of STING can significantly reduce titanium particle-induced TNF production, attenuate the activation levels of NF-κB and IRF3 pathways as well as the nucleus translocation of P65 and IRF3.

Conclusions: STING positively regulates the level of inflammation in macrophages induced by titanium particles, and targeted inhibition of STING can reduce inflammation, which may delay the progression of aseptic loosening of artificial joints.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), the main cause of low back pain, is closely related to the inflammatory microenvironment in the nucleus pulposus (NP). Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) plays an important role in inflammation-related metabolic disturbance of NP cells. Melatonin has been proven to regulate the metabolism of NP cells, but whether it can protect NP cells from TNF-α-induced damage is still unclear. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the role and specific mechanism of melatonin on regulating the metabolism of NP cells in the inflammatory microenvironment.

Human primary NP cells were treated with or without vehicle, TNF-α and melatonin. And the metabolic markers were also detected by western blotting and RT-qPCR. The activity of NF-κB signaling and Hippo/YAP signaling were assessed by western blotting and immunofluorescence. Membrane receptors inhibitors, pathway inhibitors, lentiviral infection, plasmids transfection and immunoprecipitation were used to explore the specific mechanism of melatonin. In vivo, the rat IDD model were constructed and melatonin was injected intraperitoneally to evaluate its therapeutical effect on IDD.

We demonstrated that melatonin could alleviate the development of IDD in a rat model and reverse TNF-α–impaired metabolism of NP cells in vitro. Further investigation revealed that the protective effects of melatonin on NP cells mainly rely on MTNR1B, which subsequently activates Gαi2 protein. The activation of Gαi2 could upregulate the yes-associated protein (YAP) level, resulting in anabolic enhancement of NP cells. In addition, melatonin-mediated YAP upregulation increased the expression of IκBα and suppressed the TNF-α–induced activation of the NF-κB pathway, thereby inhibiting the catabolism of NP cells.

Our results revealed that melatonin can reverse TNF-α–impaired metabolism of NP cells via the MTNR1B/Gαi2/YAP axis and suggested that melatonin can be used as a potential therapeutic drug in the treatment of IDD.

Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) is a promising tool to estimate bone structure characteristics and predict fragile fracture. The aim of this pilot cross-sectional study was to evaluate the performance of a multi-channel residual network (MResNet) based on ultrasonic radiofrequency (RF) signal to discriminate fragile fractures retrospectively in postmenopausal women.

Total joint replacement (TJR) was one of the most revolutionary breakthroughs in joint surgery. The majority studies had shown that most implants could last about 25 years, anyway, there is still variation in the longevity of implants. In US, for all the hip revisions from 2012 to 2017 in the United States, 12.0% of the patients were diagnosed as aseptic loosening. Variable studies have showed that any factor that could cause a systemic or partial bone loss, might be the risk of periprosthetic osteolysis and aseptic loosening.

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy in women, more than 2.1 million women were newly diagnosed with breast cancer, 626,679 women with breast cancer died in 2018. It's been reported that the mean incidence of THA was 0.29% for medicare population with breast cancer in USA, of which the incidence was 3.46% in Norwegian. However, the effects of breast cancer chemotherapy and hormonotherapy, such as aromatase inhibitors (AI), significantly increased the risk of osteoporosis, and had been proved to become a great threat to hip implants survival.

In this case, a 46-year-old female undertook chemotherapy and hormonotherapy of breast cancer 3 years after her primary THA, was diagnosed with aseptic loosening of the hip prosthesis. Her treatment was summarized and analyzed.

Breast cancer chemotherapy and hormonotherapy might be a threat to the stability of THA prosthesis. More attention should be paid when a THA paitent occurred with breast cancer. More studies about the effect of breast cancer treatments on skeleton are required.

Osteoarthritis (OA), the most prevalent chronic joint disease, represents a relevant social and economic burden worldwide. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUCMSCs) have been used for injection into the joint cavity to treat OA. The aim of this article is to clarify whether Huc-MSCs derived exosomes could inhibit the progression of OA and the mechanism in this process.

A rabbit OA model was established by the transection of the anterior cruciate ligament. The effects of HUCMSCs or exosomes derived from HUCMSCs on repairing articular cartilage of knee osteoarthritis was examined by micro-CT. Immunohistochemical experiments were used to confirm the expression of relevant inflammatory molecules in OA. In vitro experiments, Transwell assay was used to assess the migration of macrophages induced by TNF-a.

Results showed that a large number of macrophages migrated in arthcular cavity in OA model in vivo, while local injection of HUCMSCs and exosomes did repair the articular cartilage. Immunohistochemical results suggested that the expression of CCL2 and CD68 in the OA rabbit model increased significantly, but was significantly reduced by HUCMSCs or exosomes. Transwell assay showed that both HUCMSCs and exosomes can effectively inhibit the migration of macrophage.

In conclusion, the exosomes derived by HUCMSCs might might rescue cartilage defects in rabbit through its anti-inflammatory effects through inhibiting CCL2.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common age-related degenerative joint disease, affecting 7% of the global population, more than 500 million people worldwide. Exosomes from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) showed promise for OA treatment, but the insufficient biological targeting weakens its efficacy and might bring side effects. Here, we report the chondrocyte-targeted exosomes synthesized via click chemistry as a novel treatment for OA.

Exosomes are isolated from human umbilical cord-derived MSCs (hUC-MSCs) using multistep ultracentrifugation process, and identified by electron microscope and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). Chondrocyte affinity peptide (CAP) is conjugated on the surface of exosomes using click chemistry. For tracking, nontagged exosomes and CAP-exosomes are labeled by Dil, a fluorescent dye that highlights the lipid membrane of exosomes. To verify the effects of CAP-exosomes, nontagged exosomes and CAP-exosomes are added into the culture medium of interleukin (IL)-1β-induced chondrocytes. Immunofluorescence are used to test the expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-13.

CAP-exosomes, compared with nontagged exosomes, are more easily absorbed by chondrocytes. What's more, CAP-exosomes induced lower MMP-13 expression of chondrocytes when compared with nontagged exosomes (p<0.001).

CAP-exosomes show chondrocyte-targeting and exert better protective effect than nontagged exosomes on chondrocyte extracellular matrix. Histological and in vivo validation are now being conducted.

As peri-prosthetic aseptic loosening is one of the main causes of implant failure, inhibiting wear particles induced macrophages inflammation is considered as a promising therapy for AL to expand the lifespan of implant. Here, we aim at exploring the role of p110δ, a member of class IA PI3K family, and Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) in titanium particles (TiPs) induced macrophages-inflammation and osteolysis.

Firstly, IC87114, the inhibitor of p110δ and siRNA targeting p110δ were applied and experiments including ELISA and immunofluorescence assay were conducted to explore the role of p110δ. Sequentially, KLF4 was predicted as the transcription factor of p110δ and the relation was confirmed by dual luciferase reporter assay. Next, assays including RT-PCR, western blotting and flow cytometry were performed to ensure the specific role of KLF4. Finally, TiPs-induced mice cranial osteolysis model was established, and micro-CT scanning and immunohistochemistry assay were performed to reveal the role of p110δ and KLF4 in vivo.

Here, we found that p110δ was upregulated in TiPs-stimulated macrophages. The inhibition of p110δ or knockdown of p110δ could significantly dampen the TiPs-induced secretion of TNFα and IL-6. Further mechanistic studies confirmed that p110δ was responsible for TNFα and IL-6 trafficking out of Golgi complex without affecting their expression in TiPs-treated macrophages. Additionally, we explored the upstream regulators and confirmed that Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) was the transcription repressor of p110δ. Apart from that, KLF4, targeted by miR-92a, could also attenuate TiPs-induced inflammation by mediating NF-κB pathway and M1/M2 polarization. By the establishment of TiPs-induced mice cranial osteolysis model, we found that KLF4 knockdown exacerbated TiPs-induced osteolysis which was strikingly ameliorated by knockdown of p110δ.

In summary, our study suggests the key role of miR-92a/KLF4/p110δ signal in TiPs-induced macrophages inflammation and osteolysis.

To address the current challenge of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, this study is the first to fabricate a braided collagen rope (BCR) which mimics native hamstring for ACL reconstruction. The study aims to evaluate the biological and biomechanical properties of BCR both in vivo and vitro.

Rabbit ACL reconstruction model using collagen rope and autograft (hamstring tendon) was conducted. The histological and biomechanical evaluations were conducted at 6-, 12-, 18, 26-week post-operation. In vitro study included cell morphology analysis, cell function evaluation and RNA sequencing of the tenocytes cultured on BCR. A cadaver study was also conducted to verify the feasibility of BCR for ACL reconstruction.

BCR displays satisfactory mechanical strength similar to hamstring graft for ACL reconstruction in rabbit. Histological assessment showed BCR restore ACL morphology at 26 weeks similar to native ACL. The superior dynamic ligamentization in BCR over autograft group was evidenced by assessment of cell and collagen morphology and orientation. The in vitro study showed that the natural collagen fibres within BCR enables to signal the morphology adaptation and orientation of human tenocytes in bioreactor. BCR enables to enhance cell proliferation and tenogenic expression of tenocytes as compared to hydrolysed collagen. We performed an RNA-Sequencing (RNA-seq) experiment where RNA was extracted from tenocyte seeded with BCR. Analysis of enriched pathways of the up-regulated genes revealed that the most enriched pathways were the Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1A) regulated networks, implicating the possible mechanism BCR induced ACL regeneration. The subsequent cadaver study was conducted to proof the feasibility of BCR for ACL reconstruction.

This study demonstrated the proof-of-concept of bio-textile braided collagen rope for ACL reconstruction, and the mechanism by which BCR induces natural collagen fibres that positively regulate morphology and function of tenocytes.

Summary

Osteoporosis reduces particle-induced osteolysis in rat model.

Summary

RNAi targeting TNF-alpha inhibits particle-induced inflammation and osteolysis.

Summary

RNAi targeting p110β reduces TNF-alpha production and osteolysis in response to wear particles.